JP6771824B2 - Genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product and its use - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat-treated product of a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, particularly a heat-treated product of a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar which is useful as a flavor improving agent for imparting bitterness, and a method for producing the same.

Bitterness is one of the basic tastes along with sweetness, saltiness, sourness, and umami, and it is required to impart an appropriate bitterness to various foods and drinks. In particular, beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, matcha-flavored foods and drinks, etc. have a certain degree of bitterness. It is important to determine the taste. For this reason, there is a demand in the market for materials that give bitterness to foods and drinks. As a bitterness-imparting agent (bitterness agent) for foods and drinks, for example, caramel color, naringin, caffeine and the like are known, but caramel color has a caramel-specific flavor (caramel odor), and naringin is bitter. Not only that, it has a sour taste and a slight citrus flavor, and caffeine has its own characteristics such as long bitterness and a tendency to pull too much, and it is said that the flavor is hindered depending on the type of food and drink. There was a problem. In addition, the addition of caffeine may be limited due to its excitatory effect.

On the other hand, gentiobiose typified by gentiobiose is also known as a material that imparts bitterness to foods and drinks, and has a mellow and rich bitterness without habit. Carbohydrates containing gentio-oligosaccharides also have the effect of imparting breadth / depth and body feeling to the taste of foods and drinks, the effect of enhancing the feeling of fruit juice, the effect of improving the taste of high-sweetness sweeteners, and milk. It is known to have an excellent flavor improving effect such as an effect of improving the sharpness of the aftertaste (Patent Document 1, Non-Patent Document 1). A method for producing a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrate by allowing a high-concentration glucose solution to react with β-glucosidase of microbial origin is known (Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 03-83557 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 02-219584 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 04-148661

Monthly Bioindustry April 2009, pp. 68-71

Regarding the technique for improving the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, in Patent Document 3 above, when an oligosaccharide syrup containing β-glucooligosaccharide such as gentio-oligosaccharide is reduced, the peculiar bitterness of the oligosaccharide disappears, and it is good and mellow. It is stated that it will exhibit a mild sweetness.

However, a method for efficiently enhancing the bitterness of gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugars has not yet been known.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for enhancing the bitterness of a carbohydrate containing a gentio-oligosaccharide having a preferable taste.

As a result of diligent studies to solve the above problems, the present inventors have found that the bitterness can be enhanced by subjecting a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar to a certain degree of heat treatment, and have completed the present invention. It was.

That is, the first aspect of the present invention is a genthio-oligosaccharide characterized in that the degree of coloring, which is the value obtained by subtracting the absorbance at 720 nm from the absorbance at 420 nm of the aqueous solution adjusted to a Brix value of 30, is 0.007 or more and 1.5 or less. It provides a sugar-containing heat-treated product.

The second aspect of the present invention is to provide a flavor improving agent for an object containing the above-mentioned gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product as an active ingredient.

In the above flavor improver, the objects are beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, and matcha-flavored foods and drinks. It is preferably one of the selected species.

A third aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for improving the flavor of an object, which comprises adding the above-mentioned gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product.

In the above-mentioned flavor improving method, the object is selected from beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, and matcha-flavored foods and drinks. It is preferably one of the selected species.

Further, in the above-mentioned flavor improving method, the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product is added to the object so as to contain 0.001 to 1.000% by mass in terms of a dried product of the genthio-oligosaccharide. Is preferable.

In addition, the fourth aspect of the present invention is that the degree of coloration, which is the value obtained by subtracting the absorbance at 720 nm from the absorbance at 420 nm of an aqueous solution adjusted to a Brix value of 30 by heat-treating a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, is 0.007 or more. The present invention provides a method for producing a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product, which comprises obtaining a heat-treated product of the sugar having a value of 5 or less.

In the above production method, it is preferable to heat-treat the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar at 100 to 200 ° C. for 1 minute to 12 hours so as to have the above-mentioned degree of coloring.

Further, in the above production method, it is preferable to heat-treat the aqueous solution of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar.

Further, in the above production method, the aqueous solution is preferably a syrup having a solid content concentration of 55 to 80% by mass.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is to provide a food or drink containing the above-mentioned gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is to provide a food or drink containing the above-mentioned flavor improving agent.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product in which the bitterness is enhanced without significantly impairing the taste quality of the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar. In addition, it is possible to provide a novel flavor improving agent that makes the best use of the preferable taste and bitterness of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product. Furthermore, the flavor of an object such as food and drink can be improved by adding the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product.

In the present invention, the gentiobiose is a β-glucooligosaccharide in which glucose is β-1,6-glucoside bonded, and is, for example, a gentiobiose having a degree of polymerization of 2, a gentiobiose having a degree of polymerization of 3, and a gentiobiose having a degree of polymerization of 4. And so on. Among the gentiobioses, gentiobiose is particularly effective.

The gentio-oligosaccharide can be produced by the enzymatic method described in JP-A No. 1-222779, JP-A-2-219584, etc., acid decomposition of gentianose, a method of preparing from a hydrolyzate such as pustulan or laminarin, or the like. From the viewpoint of production efficiency and cost, it is preferable to produce by allowing β-glucosidase to act on a high-concentration glucose solution. Alternatively, a commercially available gentio-oligosaccharide may be used. For example, "Solar eclipse Gentose # 45 (trade name)" manufactured by Nippon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd. is a syrup containing gentio-oligosaccharide, which is produced by allowing β-glucosidase of microbial origin to act on a high-concentration glucose solution. Genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, which can be suitably used in the present invention.

The content of the gentio-oligosaccharide in the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and for example, the gentiobiose content is preferably 0.1 to 100% by mass in terms of dry matter, and 1 to 1 It is preferably 100% by mass, and particularly preferably 3 to 100% by mass. Here, the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar used in the present invention means that the genthio-oligosaccharide itself is included.

The genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and is not particularly limited. For example, β-glucooligosaccharides such as cellobiose, laminaribiose, sophorose, and isotorehalose, maltose, trehalose, and iso. Examples thereof include α-glucooligosaccharides such as maltose and nigerose / kojibiose, glucose, fructose and sucrose. Considering the balance of taste and the like, the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar preferably contains glucose, and preferably contains glucose in an amount of 0.1 to 80% by mass in terms of a dried product, from 1 to 70. It is more preferably contained in an amount of 5 to 60% by mass, and particularly preferably contained in an amount of 5 to 60% by mass.

The properties of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar used in the present invention are also not particularly limited, but it is preferable to use a liquid syrup in consideration of workability during heat treatment and ease of color control during heat treatment. It is more preferable to use a syrup having a solid content concentration of 55 to 80% by mass, and it is particularly preferable to use a syrup having a solid content concentration of 60 to 75% by mass.

The gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention can be obtained by heat-treating the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar described above under relatively mild conditions. Specifically, with respect to the obtained heat-treated product, the gentio-oligosaccharide of the aqueous solution adjusted so that the Brix value (Bx.) Is 30 is such that the degree of coloring in the following formula is 0.007 or more and 1.5 or less. It can be obtained by heat-treating the contained sugar. As shown in Examples described later, by heat-treating the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar under such relatively mild conditions, the bitterness exhibited by the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar can be efficiently enhanced. From the viewpoint of the effect, the degree of coloring is preferably 0.01 or more and 1.5 or less, and more preferably 0.01 or more and 0.5 or less.

[Coloring degree]
Colorability = Absorbance at 420 nm (OD420) -Asorbance at 720 nm (OD720)

The heat treatment of the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar may be carried out by appropriately adjusting the obtained heat-treated product so as to have the above-mentioned degree of coloring, and the method is not particularly limited. The heating temperature can be, for example, 100 to 200 ° C., preferably 120 to 170 ° C., and the heating time can be, for example, 1 minute to 12 hours, preferably 10 minutes to 2 hours. The higher the heating temperature and the longer the heating time, the more the coloring degree of the heat-treated product tends to increase. There are no particular restrictions on the equipment that performs heat treatment, for example, pots, flat kettles, shelf-type hot air dryers, thin-film evaporators, flash evaporators, vacuum dryers, hot air dryers, steam jacket screw conveyors, drum dryers, and exts. A ruder, a worm shaft reactor, a kneader, or the like can be used.

Further, in the heat treatment of the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, a component other than the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar may be contained in the composition as long as the effect of the present invention is not impaired, and as such a component Examples include other monosaccharides / oligosaccharides / polysaccharides, amino acids / peptides / proteins, acids / alkalis, and the like.

Further, as the property of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar during the heat treatment, the aqueous syrup obtained at the time of preparing the gentio-oligosaccharide as described above may be used, and a solid gentio-oligosaccharide such as powder may be used. A composition prepared by dissolving or suspending sugar in water or the like may be used. Alternatively, the solid genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar such as powder may be directly heat-treated in a dry manner.

When a heat-treated product is obtained by heat-treating an aqueous solution of syrup as a property of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, it may be a liquid product as it is, or it may be powdered by spray drying or the like. Considering microbial contamination and the like, the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention is preferably in the form of a liquid (syrup) or powder having a solid content concentration of 60% by mass or more (preferably 65% by mass or more). Further, if necessary, purification treatment such as decolorization and deodorization may be performed according to a conventional method.

The gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention is suitably used as an active ingredient of a flavor improver. That is, the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention has a peculiar taste typified by its bitterness, and depending on the taste, the flavor such as the taste and aroma of the added object can be improved. Specifically, to improve the strength of bitterness, richness, sharpness, body feeling, taste quality of high-sweetness sweeteners, strength of fruit juice feeling, milky taste / milky aftertaste, dry feeling of alcoholic beverages, etc. Can be done. Here, the flavor improvement includes not only making the non-problematic flavor more preferable, but also improving the problematic flavor. The object is preferably food or drink, but may be a composition for adding food or drink, a composition for animal feed, or the like.

The flavor improving agent can be preferably used as a bitterness imparting agent. Here, the bitterness-imparting agent means a substance that imparts bitterness to an object (bitterness agent), and the object is preferably food or drink, but is a composition for adding food or drink or a composition for animal feed. It may be a thing or the like.

The flavor improving agent may contain, in addition to the active ingredient, a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product, other materials as long as the effect is not impaired. Other materials are not limited, and examples thereof include other bitterness agents such as naringin and caffeine, other sugars such as starch and dextrin, flavors, and coloring agents.

The content of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product in the flavor improving agent is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately determined depending on the type of the target object such as food and drink to be applied and the blending of other raw materials. Typically, for example, the flavor improver preferably contains 0.001 to 1.000% by mass, and more preferably 0.003 to 0.500% by mass, in terms of a dried product of gentio-oligosaccharide. , 0.005 to 0.100% by mass is even more preferable.

The properties of the flavor improver are not particularly limited, and may be, for example, liquid or powder.

The food or drink to which the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention or the flavor improver containing the same as an active ingredient is applied is not particularly limited, and for example, alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, frozen desserts, and frozen desserts. , Seasonings, sauces, Western confectionery, Japanese confectionery, bread, noodles and various other foods and drinks. Among them, according to the present invention, since the effect of improving the flavor based on the addition of bitterness is obtained, in particular, beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages such as low-alcohol chu-hi, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, and caramel-flavored foods and drinks. It is suitably used for products, foods and drinks flavored with fruit juice, and foods and drinks flavored with matcha. It should be noted that the beer-based beverage means to include a carbonated beverage having a beer-like appearance and flavor, as is understood by ordinary skilled workers, and more specifically, beer, low-malt beer, so-called "No. 1". It is meant to include other brewed liquors (foaming) and other liqueurs (foaming), non-fermented beer-flavored alcoholic beverages, beer-flavored non-alcoholic beverages, etc., which are called "3 beer" or "new genre". Low-alcohol beverages mean alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of 9% or less (beer-based beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, matcha-flavored foods and drinks. (Excluding products), cocktails such as highball and gintonic, and brewed sake such as sake and Shokoshu with an alcohol content of 9% or less are included. Coffee-flavored foods and drinks are meant to include foods and drinks that have a coffee-like flavor regardless of the presence or absence of coffee components, and are coffee-flavored non-alcoholic beverages such as coffee, cafe ole, and cafe latte, and coffee liqueurs and coffee cocktails. -It means to include coffee-flavored alcoholic beverages such as coffee-flavored chewy, and coffee-flavored confectioneries such as coffee-flavored jelly, candy, and ice cream. The chocolate-flavored food and drink means to include foods and drinks having a chocolate-like flavor regardless of the presence or absence of chocolate components, such as chocolate-flavored non-alcoholic beverages such as cocoa and hot chocolate, chocolate liqueurs, and chocolate cocktails. It means to include chocolate-flavored alcoholic beverages, chocolate-flavored sweets such as chocolate-chocolate-flavored cakes, cookies, and creams. The caramel-flavored food and drink means to include food and drink having a caramel-like flavor regardless of the presence or absence of a caramel component, and includes caramel, caramel color, caramel, caramel sauce and the like. Fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks are meant to include foods and drinks that have a fruit juice-like flavor regardless of the presence or absence of fruit juice components, and are fruit juice-flavored alcoholic beverages such as wine, fruit liquor, fruit liqueur, and fruit juice-flavored Chuhai, and fruit juice. It means to include beverages, carbonated beverages, fruit juice-flavored flavored water, fruit juice-flavored non-alcoholic drinks such as fruit juice-flavored non-alcoholic beverages, and fruit juice-flavored jelly, cold confectionery, ice cream, puree and other confectionery. Matcha-flavored foods and drinks are meant to include foods and drinks that have a matcha-like flavor regardless of the presence or absence of matcha ingredients, and matcha-flavored alcoholic beverages such as matcha-flavored liqueurs and matcha-flavored cocktails, matcha-flavored latte. -It means to include matcha-flavored non-alcoholic beverages such as matcha-flavored non-alcoholic cocktails, matcha-flavored baked goods, cold confectionery, ice cream, cream, chocolate and other confectionery.

There is no particular limitation on the amount of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to the present invention or the flavor improving agent containing the same as the active ingredient added to the food or drink, and the type of the food or drink to be applied is not particularly limited. It can be appropriately determined depending on the composition of other raw materials and the like. Typically, for example, it is preferable to contain 0.001 to 1.000% by mass of gentiooligosaccharide in an object such as food and drink in terms of a dried product, and 0.003 to 0.500% by mass may be contained. It is more preferable, and it is even more preferable to contain 0.005 to 0.100% by mass. Further, the timing of blending with the object such as food and drink is not particularly limited, and may be any of before, during, and after processing (cooking, preparation) of the object such as food and drink.

The present invention is based on the finding that the bitterness is enhanced by subjecting the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar to a certain degree of heat treatment as compared with that before the treatment. Therefore, from another viewpoint of the present invention, it is also possible to provide a method for enhancing the bitterness of a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, which is characterized by heat-treating the genthio-oligosaccharide to a certain extent. The heating method, heating conditions, and genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar as a raw material are as described above.

The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited to the following examples.

[Test Example 1]
By heat-treating the eclipse Gentose # 45 (manufactured by Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.), which is a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, at a predetermined heating temperature and heating time using a blower constant temperature dryer (DRK633DB, manufactured by Advantech Co., Ltd.). Samples 1-1 to 1 to 11 were prepared. The heating temperature (set temperature of the blower of the dryer) and the heating time of each sample are as shown in Table 1 below. The genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar (solar eclipse gentose # 45) used as a raw material is a syrup having a solid content concentration of 71% containing about 50% (per solid content) of glucose in addition to the genthio-oligosaccharide.

[1. Coloring degree measurement]
The degree of coloring of each sample was measured by the following method.

Each of the obtained samples was subjected to Bx. Adjust to 30 and measure the absorbance at 420 nm and 720 nm of the diluted sample with a spectrophotometer (U-2900, manufactured by Hitachi High-Tech Science Co., Ltd.) using a 1 cm quartz cell, and subtract the absorbance at 720 nm from the absorbance at 420 nm. The value was taken as the degree of coloring.

[2. sensory evaluation〕
Each obtained sample was subjected to Bx. It was diluted to 10 and subjected to sensory evaluation using a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar (solar eclipse gentose # 45) as a comparative sample according to the following criteria.

(Evaluation criteria)
-Bitterness: The bitterness of the comparative example sample (solar eclipse gentose # 45) was set to 5 points, and the strength of the bitterness was evaluated relatively on a scale of 1 to 10 points (the stronger the bitterness, the higher the score).
-Caramel odor: The caramel odor of the comparative example sample (solar eclipse gentose # 45) was set to 1 point, and the caramel odor of caramel (PR-75E, manufactured by Senba Saccharification Co., Ltd.) was set to 10 points. The strength of the caramel odor was evaluated (the stronger the caramel odor, the higher the score).

Based on the above criteria, sensory evaluation was carried out by 5 panelists, and the average score was calculated.

Table 1 summarizes the degree of coloration and the sensory evaluation results of each sample.

As shown in Table 1, the samples (Samples 1-1 to 1-6 and Samples 1-8 to 1-9) heat-treated so that the degree of coloration is 1.5 or less are all comparative samples. The bitterness was enhanced as compared with the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar before the heat treatment. In addition, the caramel odor was not remarkably strong with a score of 4 or less. In particular, the samples having a degree of coloring of 0.01 to 1.5 (Sample 1-2 to Sample 1-6, Sample 1-8 to Sample 1-9) had a strong bitterness enhancing effect. On the other hand, the samples having a degree of coloring exceeding 1.5 (Sample 1-7, Samples 1-10 to Samples 1-11) all had a bitter taste as compared with the comparative sample, the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar before heat treatment. It was declining. It was considered that this was because a large amount of organic acid was generated by increasing the heating time, and the bitterness was canceled by the increased sourness. In addition, the longer the heating time, the stronger the caramel odor.

From the above results, it is possible to enhance the bitterness of the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar by subjecting it to a relatively mild heat treatment so that the degree of coloring is 1.5 or less, while the degree of coloring exceeds 1.5. It was clarified that the heat treatment was too strong, and on the contrary, the bitterness became weak and the caramel odor became remarkable. When the sample was analyzed by HPLC, there was no significant change in its sugar composition before and after the heat treatment.

[Test Example 2]
In addition to Nissho Gentose # 45 (manufactured by Nippon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.), which is a sugar containing gentio-oligosaccharide, glucose (hydrous glucose crystal, manufactured by Nippon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.), sucrose (granulated sugar, manufactured by Fuji Nippon Refinery Co., Ltd.), and maltose (manufactured by Fuji Nippon Refinery Co., Ltd.) An aqueous solution having a solid content concentration of 70% (Sanmalt S, manufactured by Hayashihara Co., Ltd.) was prepared and heat-treated at 150 ° C. for 1 hour using a blower constant temperature dryer (DRK633DB, manufactured by Advantech Co., Ltd.). ~ 4 was prepared.

[1. Coloring degree measurement]
The degree of coloration of each sample was measured in the same manner as in Test Example 1.

[2. sensory evaluation〕
Each obtained sample was subjected to Bx. It was diluted to 10 and the intensity of bitterness was compared with the sugar solution before heat treatment according to the following criteria.

(Evaluation criteria)
◯: The bitterness is enhanced as compared with the sugar solution before the heat treatment.
X: The bitterness does not change as compared with the sugar solution before heat treatment.

Based on the above criteria, one panelist conducted a sensory evaluation and adopted the opinion as the evaluation result.

Table 2 summarizes the degree of coloration and the sensory evaluation results of each sample.

As shown in Table 2, similar to the results of Test Example 1, the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrate (Sample 2-1) was subjected to a relatively mild heat treatment so that the degree of coloring was 1.5 or less. While the bitterness was enhanced, other sugars (glucose (sample 2-2), sucrose (sample 2-3), maltose (sample 2-4)) were all before and after heat treatment. No bitterness was felt at all, and the bitterness did not change at all by the heat treatment. In each sample, the caramel odor generated by the heat treatment was about the same and almost not felt.

From the above results, it was clarified that the bitterness enhancing effect by the heat treatment confirmed in Test Example 1 is an effect peculiar to the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar, and the effect is not exhibited in other sugars. It was.

[Test Example 3]
Samples 1-4 prepared in Test Example 1 were adjusted to a solid content of 70% and added to a commercially available soft drink (“Minute Maid Qoo Mikan” manufactured by Coca-Cola Japan Ltd.) so as to have a solid content of 0.5% by mass. Then, a soft drink was prepared. In addition, fructose-glucose liquid sugar (Fujifructo H-100: manufactured by Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.) was added to the same commercially available soft drink so as to have the same sweetness as Sample 1-4 to prepare a soft drink. .. The taste of the soft drink to which each sample was added was sensoriwise evaluated by 7 panelists according to the following evaluation criteria. Table 3 shows the average score and comments of the evaluated comprehensive evaluation.

<Evaluation criteria>
1 point: The taste is impaired compared to the additive-free beverage 2 points: The taste is impaired compared to the additive-free beverage 3 points: No change compared to the additive-free beverage 4 points : Compared to the non-additive beverage, the taste is generally improved and preferable. 5 points: Compared to the non-additive beverage, the taste is significantly improved overall, which is particularly preferable.

<Evaluation result>

As shown in Table 3, Samples 1-4, which are heat-treated gentio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrates, had improved fruit juice feeling and top taste as compared with those without addition. On the other hand, the fructose-glucose liquid sugar added so as to have the same sweetness as Samples 1-4 had a blurred fruit juice feeling, and a sufficient taste improving effect could not be obtained.

[Test Example 4]
Samples 1-4 prepared in Test Example 1 are adjusted to a solid content of 70% and added to a commercially available milk beverage (“VANHOUTEN COCOA” manufactured by Meiji Co., Ltd.) so as to have a solid content of 1.0% by mass to prepare a milk beverage. did. Further, fructose-glucose liquid sugar (Fujifructose H-100: manufactured by Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd.) was added to the same commercially available milk beverage so as to have the same sweetness as Sample 1-4 to prepare a milk beverage. The taste of the milk beverage to which each sample was added was sensorivaluated by eight panelists in the same manner as in Test Example 3. Table 4 shows the average score and comments of the evaluated comprehensive evaluation.

<Evaluation result>

As shown in Table 4, Samples 1-4, which are heat-treated gentio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrates, had improved cocoa feeling and top taste as compared with those without addition. On the other hand, the fructose-glucose liquid sugar added so as to have the same sweetness as Samples 1-4 had a blurred taste, and a sufficient taste improving effect could not be obtained.

Claims (12)

A gentio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrate heat-treated product characterized in that the degree of coloration, which is the value obtained by subtracting the absorbance at 720 nm from the absorbance at 420 nm of the aqueous solution adjusted to a Brix value of 30, is 0.007 or more and 1.5 or less . Genthio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrates reduced by hydrogen) . A flavor improver for an object containing the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to claim 1 as an active ingredient. The object is one selected from beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, and matcha-flavored foods and drinks. , The flavor improving agent for the object according to claim 2. A method for improving the flavor of an object, which comprises adding the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to claim 1. The object is one selected from beer-based beverages, low-alcohol beverages, coffee-flavored foods and drinks, chocolate-flavored foods and drinks, caramel-flavored foods and drinks, fruit juice-flavored foods and drinks, and matcha-flavored foods and drinks. , The method for improving the flavor of the object according to claim 4. The object according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product is added to the object so as to contain 0.001 to 1.000% by mass in terms of a dried product of the genthio-oligosaccharide. How to improve the flavor of. Heat treatment of genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar to adjust the Brix value to 30. Heating of the sugar having a degree of coloration of 0.007 or more and 1.5 or less, which is a value obtained by subtracting the absorbance at 720 nm from the absorbance at 420 nm. A method for producing a genthio-oligosaccharide-containing carbohydrate heat-treated product, which comprises obtaining a treated product (however, a production method for reducing treatment with hydrogen is excluded) . The method for producing a heat-treated genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar according to claim 7, wherein the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar is heat-treated at 100 to 200 ° C. for 1 minute to 12 hours so as to have the degree of coloring. .. The method for producing a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to claim 7 or 8, wherein the aqueous solution of the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar is heat-treated. The method for producing a gentio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to claim 9, wherein the aqueous solution is a syrup having a solid content concentration of 55 to 80% by mass. A food or drink containing the genthio-oligosaccharide-containing sugar heat-treated product according to claim 1. A food or drink containing the flavor improving agent according to claim 2 or 3.